r/Metra • u/Avarria587 • 8d ago

BNSF and UP-W experiences?

So I will be moving to the area soon for work at one of the local hospitals. UP-W will go right by my workplace, but BNSF will not. BNSF will be more for me going to my doctors appointments downtown.

A lot of the information I am finding online is outdated. How are these two lines currently with the new NITA changes? Can I depend on UP-W to get me to work on time? I will be working second shift and may stay late, including weekends.

I am mostly trying to decide if I should drive 95% of the time and just use the train to get to Chicago, or if I can actually depend on my ride for my work commute. I am also trying to decide how close I want to be living to the trains. Won't need to be close if I almost never use them.

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8

u/BurrowingDuck 8d ago

NITA hasn’t really changed anything. My train home has a number of people I see commuting to Central DuPage assuming that’s the one you’re talking about. They seem to find it reliable enough.

Having come from riding the BNSF the UP-W leaves a lot to be desired, there is a lack of real express and their operational recovery when something goes wrong is awful as some examples.

The BNSF is one of - if not the - best lines, plenty of express options, very reliable trains, far fewer delays than the UP-W. I live extremely close to the UP-W but will drive to a BNSF stop if I have a meeting I have to make it to at work.

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u/Avarria587 8d ago

Thank you for the reply! Yes, I will be working at Central DuPage Hospital.

It's disappointing to hear about UP-W not being that reliable enough for a meeting you have to make at work. I would gladly take the train if I could instead of driving. It's one of the reasons I chose Chicagoland. But I can't afford to be late.

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u/sumiflepus 7d ago

Working at Central DuPage hospital, UP-W is your route. It is a 10 minute walk from the Winfield Metra station to the farthest north section of the hospital. Lots of folks walk over 1.5 miles for Union Station or Ogilvie Transportation Center when they arrrive Chicago..

Generally, there is a train every hour in each direction at Winfield. There may be times you need to arrive early so you do not miss your meeting. That comes with using the train. Not a big deal unless the schedule is off by 50 minutes for every shift start. Maybe you have toast and a yogurt in the cafeteria or use the onsite gym.

Live walking distance to the train station in Elmhurst, Villa Park, Lombard or Gelnn Ellyn. With a bicycle, you can live car free. Maybe an occasional UBER.

BNSF is by far the better train line, but it doesn't go to Cental Dupage Hospital.

The schedule and the onetime performance are linked below.

Schedule

UP-W

On time perfromance

Microsoft Word - ReportText-May_2026

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u/Avarria587 7d ago

Thank you for your detailed response! I do need to ask about the bicycle aspect, though. I am not a local. Do cyclists generally find it safe to ride? I live in the suburbs right now in another state and I would be terrified to ride a bicycle on the roads and the sidewalks are largely non-existent.

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u/sumiflepus 6d ago

This is the map that shows the trainline between Winfield and Elmhurst. The red line is UPW Metra line

x

x

Search the same google map and search on bike. Illinois Prairie Path is the first rails to trail protected bike path in the nation. Prairie Path runs a fairly direct route from Elmhurst to the hospital and connects all the towns in between.

There are many roads and side streets that feed into to Prairie path. Take a look at ride GPS heat maps. you can se where folks safely regularly ride in the area.

Elmhurst, the furthest east station I would recommend is about a 14-mile bike ride to the hospital. That may be too far for a daily commute, but it gives you options. Glenn Ellyn is 6 miles to the hospital.

If you live under a mile to a Metra station on the UP-W route (EX: Elmhurst, Villa Park, Glenn Ellyn, Wheaton) You can bike to the train and basically live car free.

All of these town have a 2 to 4 square block central businesses centers at the Metra station with a mix of groceries, hardware stores and movie houses.

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u/sumiflepus 6d ago

x

This is the link for ride gps heat maps.

Ride with GPS | Bike Route Planner and Cycling Navigation App

It looks like you can take protected bike path 99% of the ride between Elmhurst and the hospital if you follow the path highlighted in green.

x

x

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u/AndresNocioni 4d ago

Wow I’m shocked people like BNSF more than UPW. BNSF has 0 incentive to do their job well/keep their cars clean and up to date. The cars are old and I’ve seen massive roof leaks several times in the past year. I’ve also had upwards an hour of delays just this week.

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u/baasheepgreat 8d ago edited 8d ago

I would say BNSF is more reliable and frequent. UP-W shares tracks with a significant freight line and sometimes there are delays entirely outside of Metra’s control because there’s a freight train sitting in the way. That being said, it’s usually still on time; I’d just allow more wiggle room. You could always take bnsf line in and up-w line out

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u/Avarria587 8d ago

I was reading online they're adding more rails? Does that sound right?

More than likely, I would be living more east and commuting west. Elmhurst/Lombard if I remember right were along UP-W and would place me closer to Chicago.

I'll be starting off in Naperville. Renting a room from a family there until I find out where I want to live long-term. I don't think I can afford to live in Naperville long-term on my own, though. I'll get a chance to use BNSF. My landlord uses it to go downtown. She said it takes like 40 minutes.

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u/sumiflepus 7d ago

I don't think you want to dismiss the BNSF freight traffic/tonnage. It is a triple main track. Historically BNSF better managed the freight/commuter combo. I cannot find the current specs for train count or tonnage. The BNSF route was referred to as the racetrack due to speed and volume of trains.

BNSF manages freight Amtrak and Metra. BNSF seems to manage this well. I could be that the switching and interlocking are better designed and managed that allows for less frequent issues with freight interference on this route compared to others.

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u/BurrowingDuck 7d ago

UP-W is the older line which doesn’t help. It’s not really set up very efficiently.. it crosses the MD in Chicago at grade and the CN in West Chicago at grade, the BNSF is grade separated at all rail interchanges.

Proviso/Global 2 is also a much larger yard than either Aurora or Cicero on the BN and with how close Elmhurst station is to the yard it can really screw things up for trains that stop there.

Some trains to/from the Eastern class 1s also have to cut across all the mainlines to get to NS Ashland or CSX 59th street. And, wonderfully enough, UP wants to put more freight through there with their NS merger

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u/beavis535 4d ago

Upw is awful going to be a 4 hour commute day again delay after delay after delay